Maine Revised Statutes

Me. Rev. Stat. tit. 14, § 816 (2026)

Limitations of actions for uncultivated lands in incorporated places

✓ current as of May 2026

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No real or mixed action for the recovery of uncultivated lands or of any undivided fractional part thereof, situated in any place incorporated for any purpose, shall be commenced or maintained against any person, or entry made thereon, when such person or those under whom he claims have, continuously for the 20 years next prior to the commencement of such action or the making of such entry, claimed said lands or said undivided fractional part thereof under recorded deeds; and have, during said 20 years, paid all taxes assessed on said lands or on such undivided fractional part thereof, however said tax may have been assessed whether on an undivided fractional part of said lands or on a certain number of acres thereof equal approximately to the acreage of said lands or of said fractional part thereof; and have, during said 20 years, held such exclusive, peaceable, continuous and adverse possession thereof as comports with the ordinary management of such lands or of undivided fractional parts of such lands in this State.

Notes of Decisions

Cited in 12 cases, 1978–2013 · leading case: Solomon's Rock Trust v. Davis, 675 A.2d 506 (Me. 1996).

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Solomon's Rock Trust v. Davis, 675 A.2d 506 (Me. 1996). · cites it 5× “Davis, to be the owner of a parcel of uncultivated land to which the Trust claims ownership through adverse possession pursuant to the common law and 14 M.R.S.A § 816 (1980). The Trust also contends that the court abused its discretion in granting Davis’s motion to extend the…”

John Wallingford Fruit House Inc. v. MacPherson, 386 A.2d 332 (Me. 1978). · cites it 7× “, this cause was tried before a referee, who recommended judgmént for the Defendant upon his conclusion that she had established adverse possession pursuant to 14 M.R.S.A. § 816. The Plaintiff corporation timely objected, M.”

Est. of Stone v. Hanson, 621 A.2d 852 (Me. 1993). · cites it 3× “We are asked to construe 14 M.R.S.A. § 816 (1980), 1 govern *853 ing adverse possession of uncultivated lands.”

McMullen v. Dowley, 418 A.2d 1147 (Me. 1980). · cites it 2× “The justice declared appellees to be the owners of the northern lot, rejecting the Dowleys’ claim under 14 M.R.S.A. § 816 (1980) on the *1151 ground that it was impossible to construe the Davis-Smith deed of 1914 as encompassing the northern lot so as to constitute a “recorded…”

Johnson v. Town of Dedham, 490 A.2d 1187 (Me. 1985). · cites it 2× “§ 801 (1980), 14 M.R.S.A. § 816 (1980), or by the doctrine of laches; (2) a specific finding that Johnson, and those through whom he claimed, possessed the land for at least four years was unnecessary; (3) Dedham’s tax liens were invalid because they inadequately described the…”

Glidden v. Belden, 684 A.2d 1306 (Me. 1996). “The Beldens answered and asserted several counterclaims against the Gliddens, including the claim that they had acquired title to the portion of the Rangeway abutting their property by adverse possession by virtue of a recorded deed, payment of taxes thereon for a period of…”

McMullen v. Dowley, 483 A.2d 698 (Me. 1984). “In our prior opinion we held that the justice properly rejected the Dowleys’ claim under 14 M.R.S.A. § 816 (1980), because the deed upon which the Dowleys based their claim under section 816, could not be read to include all the property they claimed.”

Maine Gravel Servs., Inc. v. Haining, 1998 ME 18 (Me. 1998). “The court concluded that the defendants failed to prove their claim to adverse possession pursuant to 14 M.R.S.A. § 816 (1980) (requiring the adverse claimant to have claimed under a recorded deed), because the deed on which they relied did not adequately describe lot 3A.”

Glover v. Graham, 459 A.2d 1080 (Me. 1983). “1980); see 14 M.R.S.A. § 816 (1980). 8 . Obtaining title to property by the doctrine of acquiescence requires: (1) possession up to a visible line marked clearly by monuments, fences or the like; (2) actual or constructive notice to the adjoining landowner of the possession; (3)…”

Mercier v. Allen, 445 A.2d 1011 (Me. 1982). · cites it 2× “As against Mercier, defendants claim they have acquired title to the Mountain Lot through adverse possession as authorized by 14 M.R.S.A. § 816 (1980). After a bench trial, the Superior Court (Waldo County) agreed with defendants’ position; 2 and on appeal we affirm.”

Hill v. Shaw Bros. Constr. (Me. Super. Ct 2006). “Statutorv Adverse Possession of Uncultivated Lands Pursuant to 14 M.R.S.A. § 816, the legislature set forth the requirements for obtaining title by adverse possession to uncultivated land in incorporated places.”

Boothby v. Dunnells (Me. Super. Ct 2013). “Section 816 requires that the moving party (1) hold a recorded deed to the claimed lands, (2) paid all taxes assessed, (3) held exclusive, (4) peaceable, (5) continuous, and (6) adverse possession (7) for a period of 20 years.”

Annotations are extracted automatically from the opinions in the Syfert caselaw corpus and ranked by authority, recency, and treatment. Dots show Syfertize treatment of the citing case itself.